MINUTES OF THE JACKSONVILLE PUBLIC LIBRARY BOARD MEETING. July 10, 2017

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1 MINUTES OF THE JACKSONVILLE PUBLIC LIBRARY BOARD MEETING July 10, 2017 The regular meeting of the Jacksonville Public Library Board of Directors was held July 10, 2017 in the library s conference room. Present were President Mary Fergurson, Noel Beard, Kevin Eckhoff, Craig Albers, Robert Underbrink, Forrest Keaton, Katie Weeks and Library Director Chris Ashmore. Absent were Ted Roth and Elizabeth Kennedy. President Fergurson called the meeting to order at 4:30 PM. It was moved by Underbrink and seconded by Eckhoff that the minutes of the June board meeting be accepted as submitted. Motion carried. It was moved by Keaton and seconded by Albers that all financial reports for July be approved and that all properly approved bills for July in the amount of $58, be paid out of general funds as funds are available. Motion carried. It was suggested that some of the money in the Special Reserve Fund should be invested, since we do not have any known major projects on the horizon. At this point, Fergurson reported on the latest Endowment Fund Report. Fergurson also reported that upon investigating the fees charged by US Bank to manage the Endowment Fund, it was discovered that the library was overcharged on fees from mid to spring This error in calculating the fee has been corrected and all money owed the library, including interest, has been taken care of. Director s Report As both the Adult and Children s Summer Reading Programs got started, the library was full of people throughout the month of June. Youth Services had excellent attendance and great responses to all of the various performers, crafts, story times, and special events. The children s Books on Wheels program also continued to prosper, as more and more kids took advantage of the opportunity to check out books. Many patrons also signed up for the Adult Summer Reading Program, where all one has to do is read books to earn prizes. Once again this year, several area places of business sponsored the Adult Summer Reading Program and allowed for us to hand out some nice prizes. Along with the beginning of Summer Reading, we had a nice influx of new library card applications. In between various doctor s appointments that I was able to attend with Amber, library work kept me very busy. I spent a couple of days helping to sort donated books for the

2 Friends July book sale; attended various meetings including Friends of the Library Board, Main St. Board and Design Committee and weekly Conversation Group. The Conversation Group has become such a tight knit group that Hillary and I, along with three other volunteers, attended the wedding of one of our Spanish speakers on Saturday June 17. It is a very fun bunch. I also appeared on WLDS radio with Gary Scott on June 15 as part of our new monthly radio spot. At this time, I was able to promote many upcoming library programs and new services available such as the language databases, blog and responsive web site. Bowsher Roofing came to the library and repaired/replaced the loose and broken clay tiles on the library s roof. After working with Gary Bowsher on the roof membrane/hvac project a few years ago, I have used Bowsher for any roofing issues that have arisen and they have been efficient, reasonably priced and a pleasure to work with. Hillary arranged for a very interesting and important program that was held on June 15. The non-profit organization Grounds of Grace spoke with an audience of about 30 about the work they do assisting victims of human trafficking in Central Illinois. Human trafficking sounds like a problem that only exists in third-world countries or large metropolitan areas, but it is unfortunately alive and well right here in our area. The group assists victims with housing, food, supplies, counseling and job placement. The talk prompted many questions from the audience. The big event for June was the American Library Association (ALA) annual conference, which was held in Chicago this year. It had been several years since the conference came to Chicago. When it does come to Chicago, I try to send several staff members for a few days to get the experience of attending the premier national library event of each year. Sarah, Cindy, Hillary and I all spent a couple of days at the conference, staggering our attendance so that the library would not be short staffed. All of us attended valuable workshops, visited with vendors in the exhibit hall and networked with librarians from across the nation. Several ideas obtained from the conference are already being discussed and planned for implementation at the Jacksonville Public Library. Adult Services In June, Hillary assisted several patrons with unique requests pertaining to local history and summer travel plans. She attended the annual ALA conference in Chicago where she attended sessions on privacy and how to connect patrons to community resources. She also made connections with vendors who provide repair and restoration services that may be helpful in the preservation of Special Collections materials.

3 In preparation for the upcoming Senior Security: In Home and Online program being conducted by Loren Hamilton of the Morgan-Scott County Crime Stoppers, Hillary actively promoting the event in the library, through various social service agencies and, with the assistance of Outreach Librarian Diane Hollendonner, nursing homes. She also created the July newsletter and distributed it to media and social service outlets in the area. She continued to contribute to the weekly Shelf Life column in the newspaper and kept the library website up to date. Interlibrary Loan/Holds In June, there were 964 items borrowed from other libraries; 708 items lent to other libraries; and 758 reciprocal circulations. Circulation Services The Circulation department continued to provide great customer service to all Jacksonville Public Library patrons. The Summer Reading Program was in full swing and it was obvious. Both desks were incredibly busy and many people signed up for the adult Summer Reading Program. Sarah attended the American Library Association conference in June. She came back with a lot of good information about products the library could potentially purchase in the future to streamline some of the tasks at the circulation desk. Additionally, she attended many sessions to improve skills relevant to her position at the library. The library checked out close to 1,300 more items this year compared to June of last year. Sarah continued to write blog posts as regularly as possible. The blog has been received positively and she will continue to keep it updated to meet demand. Extension Services June brought welcome changes to the Large Print area -- the former shelving used for magazines was "re-purposed" into shelving for large print books and now lines up parallel to the other shelves in that room. Bridget shelf-shifted most of the collection to give some "breathing room" to the shelves. In the meantime, Diane moved books to the "new" shelf and ordered enough new books to keep up with the summer demand. Homebound readers are taking part in the Adult Summer Reading program and enjoy earning the prizes. The Knollwood Book Club met on June 9 to discuss "Donald Duck and other Disney Characters", while the Jacksonville Area Senior Center discussed "The Language of Flowers" on June 20.

4 Diane attended the Jacksonville Area Senior Center annual meeting on June 21 and was re-elected to a three-year term on the board of directors. Youth Services It should come as no surprise, but the Youth Services Department has been rather busy since Summer Reading began. The program opened June 6 with former Jacksonville star Heather Harlan. From there, there have been story times, crafts, garden club, lap sit, Lego club and movies. Other entertainers included Troy Roark, Mike Anderson and a brand new show, Absolute Science. The Garden Club sessions have become very, very popular -- almost more than staff can handle, but Cindy wants to leave it open to anyone who wants to share the love of gardening. The library was asked by the Jacksonville Journal-Courier to gather a group of children to paint an old, metal newspaper box to be used as a Little Free Library. This turned out to be a great project for the kids. The painters were Amanda, Lexi and Thea Laumakis; Samantha and Lizzie Alm; Peter Boehlke; and Bram, Eli and Jet Walker. The kids all came up with a design and then voted for their favorite, which was a love note to Jacksonville. The newspaper box has the downtown square on the back with paths leading to the library, Leo s Pizza, Our Town Books and the Ferris Wheel. The children were also able to incorporate the other ideas into the design. Look for flowers and curly cues, Sonic the Hedgehog and a detective on the box. Once they get the shelf in it, the box will be placed in front of the Journal-Courier s office. Cindy is looking to the future and excited for what July will bring! Technical Services Lauren continued to excel in her new role as cataloger. With Linda s cataloging assistance and Heidi s and Kim s efficient processing of materials, things ran very smoothly in Technical Services. COMMITTEE REPORTS Automation/Technology Building and Grounds Finance

5 Personnel Public Relations FRIENDS OF THE LIBRARY Ashmore reported that the Friends Book Sale held at the library on July 8 made $830. RAILS/RSA OLD BUSINESS Ashmore reported that he arranged for the library parking lot to be resealed and restriped. The lot has already had any cracks sealed. The lot will be completely sealed and restriped on an upcoming weekend. Ashmore reported that Bowhser Roofing repaired/replaced the missing and broken clay roof tiles. NEW BUSINESS Keaton made a motion that the Jacksonville Public Library continue to participate in the non-resident card program for another year and charge a fee of $60/yr., this fee being calculated using the General Mathematical Formula provided by the Illinois State library (Total Property Tax Income /Local Population X Average Household Size which gave a minimum fee of $58.95). Weeks seconded this motion. Motion carried. Ashmore reported on an upcoming partnership with the MacMurray College Social Work Program. After attending a program at the annual ALA conference in June, Ashmore learned that libraries are becoming common partners with social workers. After meeting with Dr. Joe Squillace from MacMurray College, the tentative plan is to have a student or students visit the library during a fall semester course and perform an organizational assessment of the library. Using this along with a community needs assessment, the student(s) will complete a strategic plan. If everything goes well and the need is found, a social work student will then be assigned to do their spring semester practicum at the library. This is brand new territory for both the library and Mac, but both sides are eager to make it work. Underbrink made a motion to adjourn the meeting at 5:40 PM, seconded by Keaton. Motion carried.

6 Respectfully submitted by Chris Ashmore